The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24
“Argh!”
Zenno, the viscount, squeezed his eyes shut and stomped his feet, crying out in distress. He’d thought Ailienn had cast Attack Magic at him, but there was no pain. Instead, his entire body tingled with a warm, prickling sensation.
“Hm?”
The viscount opened his eyes cautiously, unsettled by the odd feeling. He looked down at himself.
“What in blazes is this?”
Yellow dandelions were sprouting from each silver button on the frock coat he wore. Blue ivy vines wound up from his cuffs, coiling around his wrists. But the most dramatic change was…
“Father’s hair is…”
“Hehe! Flower garden hair!”
Struck by the children’s opposite reactions, Zenno instinctively reached up and touched his head. Where there should have been only smooth skin, he felt something thick and soft. With trembling fingers, he carefully pulled at the growth on his scalp. It wasn’t hair.
Flowers of every hue bloomed as if his head were a planter box.
“Lili made Father a flower pot on his head!”
Zenno collapsed where he stood, while Ailienn danced around him in high spirits. Kaius stood motionless, unable to believe what his own eyes had witnessed.
On the viscount’s purple crown, now that the pink haze had lifted, countless wildflowers of varied colors had taken root and bloomed in full, as though his scalp were a garden bed.
“You’ve got the same look as Father—want me to make you one too before you go bald?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“You stay quiet, Beck Zenno.”
“Kaido?”
“What?”
“Are you jealous of Kaido? Should Lili make you one?”
“Never mind! I’m fine. My hair is plenty as it is.”
“Ah, I see. That guy’s stuck because his hair just isn’t enough.”
Ailienn nodded in agreement at Kaius’s words. Kaius let out a quiet sigh of relief—the thought of his hair becoming a flowerbed was utterly abhorrent.
That aside.
“You really are…”
“Mm?”
“You really are Zero—no, never mind.”
Kaius bit down hard on his lower lip, unable to finish the sentence. Ailienn tilted her head at his mysterious reaction, then silently convinced herself that little ones simply couldn’t speak properly.
‘Is this child really a future Zeronian?’
If this fact ever reached the world, what would happen?
Kaius felt goosebumps rise along his spine as he watched the wand in Ailienn’s small hand. The mana was far too vast and alien to simply be called a remarkable spell.
The wave of Space-Shaking Mana was overwhelming, as if an entire forest had crashed down at once, and at its center stood something sacred and terrifying.
“Grand Prince.”
“My… my hair… it’s a flower pot.”
“Grand Prince!”
The viscount, who had collapsed into helpless despair, finally looked up at Kaius’s persistent calls. His head bloomed with flowers, his eyes brimmed with tears—yet none of it softened Kaius’s heart.
“I warned you. Why must you always cause trouble?”
“Your Highness, that monster of a child did this to me!”
“Monster!”
At the sound of Ailienn’s cheerful voice from behind, Zenno visibly flinched.
“Lili isn’t a monster…”
“No.”
Kaius immediately denied it, fearing the girl might take offense. Then he fixed the viscount with a cold stare. The child’s chilling gaze sent Beck back a step without meaning to.
“Lili is too lovely.”
“……….”
“Humans can’t do what you called a monster. But Lili did.”
Kaius sensed it clearly: as long as Ailienn was near, any serious conversation with Zenno would be impossible.
“Ailienn.”
“Mm.”
“I need to talk with Grand Prince for a while. Would you stay quiet until then?”
“Lili must stay quiet?”
“Please. Only you can do this for me.”
“Only Lili can… my shoulders are heavy now.”
*Squeak.*
“I don’t mean you should go find Didi and leave.”
“Anyway, you understand, right? Please stay quiet for me.”
Ailienn nodded solemnly. Then she held up a finger to Kiki and Didi, gesturing for them to be silent. Kiki shrugged, and Didi nodded vigorously.
Kaius exhaled softly and turned toward Zenno.
“In any case, you must have realized that Ailienn possesses tremendous power.”
“Everyone here has surely been entranced by it!”
“Would you like to decorate your armpits as well?”
“…….”
“If it were me, I’d keep my mouth shut and live in peace. That’s how I’d avoid such troubles.”
“Your Highness!”
“I don’t know myself. I have no idea where Ailienn’s limits lie.”
When Kaius whispered this final remark, Zenno nodded, his face drained of color. His gaze shifted over Kaius’s shoulder, where Ailienn stood beaming at him with a brilliant smile.
Zenno’s shoulders trembled. Ailienn was approaching him step by step, her eyes locked onto his.
“U-uuaaah!”
In forty years of life, he’d never known fear like this. Zenno stumbled backward, landing hard on his posterior, scrambling to put distance between himself and Ailienn.
Beck had already begun to weep.
It was Kaius who approached Zenno.
“I’ll take care of your hair, so be careful going forward. If you let your mouth run away one more time…….”
“Ailienn, can I speak now?”
“Aaaaah! Yes, yes, I understand. I’ll be careful. I was wrong!”
Zenno and Beck rushed out, vying with each other to escape first. Kaius, who had meant to introduce them to a mage he knew, merely shrugged. Ailienn blinked.
“Why are they like that?”
***
“Father, there’s something I’d like to discuss regarding Ailienn.”
The moment Calisto returned to the Grand Ducal palace, he watched Ailienn wave about the toy stick Marlin had given him, peering curiously into every potted plant. Kaius had drained himself completely trying to restrain her. He thought fighting ten demons would have been easier.
“Could we do this tomorrow?”
He felt sorry toward Kaius, but he couldn’t bear to think about Ailienn any more today. The child was far too lovely and endearing—yet he’d already been worn down enough.
“If you don’t mind, I’d very much like to discuss it now.”
Yet Kaius wore a far more serious expression than usual. Calisto had no choice but to lead his son toward his office.
Along the path to the office stood the Atrium Library, which occupied the central axis of House of Rubentain. It was said that if a book wasn’t kept there, it couldn’t be found anywhere on the continent, and it had been Marlin’s favorite place. It was also where Kaius took Ailienn to teach her spelling.
Kaius, following behind Calisto, suddenly stopped and gazed at the library.
“What are you doing?”
“You remember—I mentioned hearing crying sounds coming from here.”
“Ah.”
Calisto nodded, recalling what Ailienn had said earlier. Unlike when he’d heard it as a joke, Kaius’s expression now was remarkably grave.
“It seems Ailienn possesses tremendous power. That’s why we must investigate this place!”
“…….”
“Truly, Ailienn might even be Zeronian!”
“Hmm.”
It had been quite some time since the usually composed Kaius had become this agitated. For that reason alone, Calisto found his son’s unfamiliar demeanor far more engaging than the words themselves.
“Are you listening to me, Father?”
“I am. You’re saying Ailienn might be Zeronian?”
“Yes!”
Kaius poured out everything he’d witnessed at that time—though he conveniently omitted the story of the Mystical Greenhouse overflowing with Life Force. After all, he’d promised Ailienn to keep that secret.
Seeing Kaius’s quite serious expression, Calisto felt obliged to nod along with equal gravity.
“Hmm.”
Calisto stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Contrary to what everyone hoped, the mana Ailienn possessed wasn’t particularly strong. Judging by the presence of Marlin’s essence, he could only guess that she’d prepared something for the child.
Yet now, with those dissatisfied with the child’s position watching closely, it didn’t seem unwise to let everyone believe Ailienn possessed considerable power.
“Well, even if she’s not quite Zeronian, she does seem to have potential.”
“Without question. If others learn of it, they might even try to abduct Ailienn.”
Kaius continued to speak with utmost seriousness, and Calisto covered his mouth with a soft cough. When he’d first brought Ailienn home, Kaius had made such a show of displeasure, yet now his worry over her seemed endearingly sweet.
“Yes, we must be cautious. I’ll give this matter serious consideration.”
“She really does seem to have no thoughts of her own, so the House must protect her at all costs.”
“Let’s do that, then.”
It pleased him to see Kaius stepping forward to protect Ailienn. More than that, it felt right somehow—warmth blooming in his chest like sunlight filtering through an old window.
Perhaps they would become good friends after all.
“And I think her lessons in writing should proceed in a more systematic fashion.”
…… That was too hasty a judgment.
Ailienn would surely protest, but Kaius was so resolute in his conviction that Calisto found himself helpless in the face of it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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